Jonny Moseley flips from skiing to America’s Cup

Jonny Moseley, the Olympic gold medalist skier who lives in Tiburon with his wife and two young sons, spends half of the year in Tahoe’s Squaw Valley as a spokesman and “chief mountain host.” Moseley, who is 36 and retired from professional skiing a decade ago, is a rising presence in the world of sports commentary.

Q:How did you get involved in America’s Cup events?

A: I used to sail growing up, racing dinghies around the bay. My brothers and I were pretty competitive. I quit when I was around 14 to pursue skiing. So in recent years, I started missing sailing. I raced in the World Championships on the San Francisco Bay and got killed. But along the way, I met a lot of people and was asked to do some announcing for the America’s Cup.

Q:Do you see yourself doing more commentating?

A: Yes, I’m really moving out of the most aggressive skiing. My desire to take risks has plummeted. I like commentating. It keeps me in the sport and at the Olympics.

Q:Where haven’t you skied where you’d love to ski?

A: A bunch of places. I’ve never skied Jackson Hole. I’ve skied a lot in Europe, but I haven’t skied Verbier or St. Moritz, or some of those other classic resorts.

Q:Will Icer Air, the skiing event that you hosted and started on the streets of San Francisco, be resurrected?

A: I would love to see Icer resurrected in some shape or form. It really needs to come back to the street. Going to the ballpark kind of killed it. It’s a financial question. It’s an event to raise money for a good cause or raise awareness for a company that wants to make a splash.

Q:What are your worst wipeouts ever?

A: In the spring, I fractured vertebrae in my neck. I was skiing in Telluride, and I did a backflip, basically showing off for some kids. It’s a trick I do in my sleep. I over-rotated and landed on my back.

Q:Any concussions?

A: Those are the absolute scariest. I’ve had multiple concussions, including one in Japan. They happen so fast, but the symptoms go on for weeks. You can break your leg clear off – you can lose a whole limb – and your quality of life can still be good. But the brain injuries are the ones that eventually made me start to slow down and begin my exit from the more dangerous parts of the sport.

Q:What would you have been had you not pursued skiing?

A: My brother is a mechanical engineer, and I was always interested in that engineering ethos. I always liked math and science.

Q:What do you do to unwind?

A: Well, it gets trickier and trickier with kids. I spend quite a bit of time on a boat with my son, fishing, as we live right on the bay. We caught a salmon together. We go for bike rides. Now it’s whatever my son wants to do. Having a 4-year-old and an 18-month-old is basically an excuse to go out and play.

Q:Any secret talents?

A: I’m not sure I have one. I’m not a cook. I love food, but my wife, Malia, is a great cook. I love to read. I just finished Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball,” and now I’m reading “Unbroken.” I would say I’m a good singer, though I’m not sure my wife would corroborate that.